It's a Friday night in January. Your tenant texts that the boiler's out, the service company can't get the part until Monday, and it's 20 degrees outside. The first thing most owners think is: drop off a couple of space heaters and deal with it after the weekend.
Go ahead and bring the heaters. Just know they don't solve your problem under Massachusetts law. They keep people warm while you fix the real thing.
Education for owners in Fall River, New Bedford, Somerset, Swansea and Westport. Not legal advice.
Do space heaters count as heat under the Massachusetts sanitary code?
No. The state sanitary code, 105 CMR 410.160, says the owner has to provide and maintain a heating system that can heat every habitable room and every bathroom to the required temperatures. Then it spells out what doesn't count: a fireplace, a wood or pellet stove, or "a portable electric space heater."
Some heaters aren't allowed in a rental at all. The same section bans portable wick-type heaters, heating appliances adapted to burn kerosene, range oil, propane or No. 1 fuel oil, and unvented propane or gas space heaters that aren't approved under the state fire code. If a tenant is running one of those, that's its own problem to deal with.
What about gas space heaters that are built in and vented?
Those are fine, and a lot of our apartments in Fall River heat this way. This post is about the plug-in kind. A gas space heater that's permanently installed and vented to the outside, through the chimney or straight out the wall, is a heating system. It isn't on the code's list of things that don't count. The sanitary code's venting rule, 105 CMR 410.170, actually names space heaters and says they have to be vented to the outdoors.
There are a few catches. One heater still has to do the whole job. If the back bedroom sits at 60 degrees with the door shut, that's a violation even though the heater itself is legal. The work has to be done by a licensed plumber or gas fitter with a permit, under 248 CMR 3.05. And the state gas code, 248 CMR 5.10, says a new room heater in a bedroom or bathroom has to be a direct-vent model, and an unvented gas heater can't be the main heat for any room.
That bedroom rule is where it gets gray. Plenty of older buildings have a chimney-vented heater that's been in a bedroom for decades. I wouldn't assume it's grandfathered. If you're replacing one, ask your gas fitter or the city's gas inspector first.
How warm does a landlord have to keep an apartment in Massachusetts?
The rule is 105 CMR 410.180. From September 15 to May 31, every habitable room and bathroom has to be at least 68°F from 7 AM to 11 PM, and at least 64°F overnight. It can't go above 78°F. The temperature is measured 5 feet above the floor, more than 5 feet from an outside wall.
A local board of health can start the season as late as September 30 or end it as early as May 15, but only by posting it on the city or town website. I'd plan on the full season unless you've seen that notice from your city.
A lot of older websites still say the season runs to June 15. That was the old code. The current dates took effect in 2023.
How fast do I have to get the heat back on?
Faster than most owners think. The code lists failure to provide heat as a condition that "may endanger or materially impair" health or safety, under 105 CMR 410.630. So is using one of the banned heaters.
If your tenant calls the board of health, an inspector comes out. For a condition on that list, the order goes out within 12 hours of the inspection and tells you to make a good-faith effort to fix it within 24 hours. In Fall River, those complaints go to the Minimum Housing office.
Good faith is the key phrase when a part really is days away. I'd put it in writing to the tenant right away: what broke, who's coming, when the part is due. Keep the service company's invoices and texts. That record is what shows you were fixing it, not waiting it out.
Can I use space heaters while I wait on the repair?
Yes, as a stopgap, and done carefully. The National Fire Protection Association reports that space heaters and heating stoves are behind more than seven in 10 home heating fire deaths. That's why the heater itself can't be the plan.
When I'd drop off heaters, I'd go over three things with the tenant from NFPA's advice: keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away, plug only one heat-producing appliance into an outlet at a time, and turn the heater off when leaving the room or going to sleep. Electric only. Never a kerosene or unvented propane unit.
Who pays the extra electric bill from the space heaters?
This is where most of the arguments start. The code doesn't answer it directly. If the tenant pays for electricity, the heaters you handed them run on their meter, for a problem that's yours to fix.
I'd offer to cover the difference before they ask. Compare the bill to the same month last year, or estimate from the heater's wattage, and credit it. Put the offer in writing. It costs a lot less than a tenant who feels stuck paying for your broken boiler.
Who pays for heat in the first place?
Under 105 CMR 410.200 and 410.210, the owner pays for the gas, electricity or oil that heats the unit unless two things are true: the unit has its own meter (or its own oil tank), and a written rental agreement says the tenant pays.
Miss the second part and the bill is yours. MassLegalHelp points out that without a written agreement, the landlord owes for heat even if the tenant has been paying it. It's the same trap I wrote about in the water and sewer myth.
What's the risk if I drag my feet?
Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 14, a landlord who has to provide heat and willfully or intentionally fails to can be fined and sued. The tenant can recover actual damages or three months' rent, whichever is more, plus court costs and their lawyer's fees. A lease clause waiving that is void.
The owners who get hurt here usually aren't the ones whose boiler broke. They're the ones who treated the space heaters as the fix.
The cheapest heat call is the one you never get. A fall boiler or furnace service is part of any good preventive maintenance plan. If you'd rather have someone else take the 10 PM no-heat call, see our maintenance and repairs and property management pricing, or call or text (508) 671-7228.
Fall River landlord FAQs
Can a landlord use space heaters instead of fixing the heat in Massachusetts?
No. Under 105 CMR 410.160(B), a portable electric space heater doesn't count as the heating system the owner has to provide. You can hand out heaters to keep people warm while you work on the repair, but the boiler or furnace still has to be fixed. Missing heat is treated as a condition that may endanger health.
Are gas wall heaters OK as the main heat in a Massachusetts rental?
Yes, if they're permanently installed, vented to the outside and put in by a licensed gas fitter with a permit. A vented gas heater isn't on the sanitary code's list of heat that doesn't count. It still has to keep every habitable room and bathroom at 68°F by day and 64°F at night.
What temperature does a landlord have to keep an apartment in Massachusetts?
From September 15 to May 31, every habitable room and bathroom has to reach at least 68°F from 7 AM to 11 PM and at least 64°F overnight, under 105 CMR 410.180. It can't go above 78°F. A local board of health can shorten the season a little by posting it online.
How long does a landlord have to fix the heat in Massachusetts?
There's no fixed number of hours in the code for the landlord to act on their own. But once a tenant calls the board of health, no heat is a condition that may endanger health. The inspector's order comes within 12 hours of the inspection and requires a good-faith effort to fix it within 24 hours.
Does the landlord pay the extra electric bill from space heaters?
The sanitary code doesn't say. If the tenant pays for electricity, the heaters run on their meter while your heating system is down. I'd offer to cover the difference, using the same month last year as a guide, and put it in writing. It's cheap goodwill when you're the one who owes the heat.
Sources
- 105 CMR 410.160, Heating facilities required: law.cornell.edu
- 105 CMR 410.170, Venting: law.cornell.edu
- 248 CMR 3.05, Permits and inspections (Massachusetts plumbing and gas code): law.cornell.edu
- 248 CMR 5.10, Massachusetts changes to the fuel gas code for room heaters: law.cornell.edu
- M.G.L. c. 148, § 25A, Unvented space heaters: malegislature.gov
- 105 CMR 410.180, Temperature requirements: law.cornell.edu
- 105 CMR 410.200 and 410.210, Who pays for gas, electricity and oil: 410.200, 410.210
- 105 CMR 410.630 and 410.640, Conditions that may endanger health and timing of orders: 410.630, 410.640
- Full text of 105 CMR 410, State Sanitary Code Chapter II: mass.gov
- Massachusetts law about winter heating: mass.gov
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 14: malegislature.gov
- MassLegalHelp, Your right to obtain utility service: masslegalhelp.org
- NFPA, US home heating fires peak during winter months (January 22, 2026): nfpa.org
- City of Fall River, Minimum Housing: fallriverma.gov